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Aramexhas
published a report, in collaboration with Wamda and the American
University in Cairo (AUC), onAzza Fahmyan
Egypt born luxury brand of jewelry. It boasts a high-profile
clientele including the Saudi royal family, the Jordanian royal
family and certain western iconic figures, such as supermodel Naomi
Campbell. This report analyzes and focuses on the rebirth that
transformed Azza Fahmy from a local company into a global luxury
brand.

Company namesake Azza Fahmy herself worked as an
apprentice to a master jeweler in the 1970s in Cairo. After
refining her skills in the United Kingdom, she returned to Egypt to
open her boutique called El-Ain Gallery in 1981. In 2003 she turned
her operation from a small workshop into a full-scale factory just
outside of Cairo. Azza Fahmy’s products are inspired by Egyptian
and Islamic culture, with a signature use of filigree and the use
of both gold and silver in the same piece. Unlike other products,
Azza Fahmy goods are not sold according to the weight or number of
carats, because a significant part of the value is based on the
design of the product.

The rebranding campaign started when Azza
Fahmy’s daughter, Fatma Ghaly, took over as managing director in
2006. She overhauled the company structure and marketing strategy.
There are four prominent aspects to Azza Fahmy’s strategy. First is
its frequent collaboration with well known designers with the
express goal of being featured in industry trade shows. This
provides the brand with industry legitimacy and access to important
trade shows, while collaborators benefit from inspiration from a
different culture and a presence in the Middle East.

The second aspect is its strong online presence.
Azza Fahmy established a presence in the fashion capitals of the
world, focusing on Europe and the United States. It does not ignore
its Arab market, thanks to its residents' wealth and interest in
jewelry. Nonetheless, the brand’s leadership believes that
enhancing its western presence will improve its sales.

The third aspect involves limiting the
distribution of its products to only a select number of outlets.
That is why the brand’s products are only found in upscale outlets
such as international hotels. The final aspect is its focus on
marketing, as the brand fosters a close relationship with media to
make sure it is featured frequently on prestigious
outlets.

As of the writing of the report, Azza Fahmy has
185 employees, with 60 involved in production. It produces more
than 5,000 jewelry pieces each year. It also has an online
boutique, five stores in Cairo, two in Amman, and a pop up shop in
Washington, D.C. It’s workshop is located in the industrial zone of
Cairo. Increasing production takes a significant amount of time, as
employees follow a traditional master and apprentice system.
Becoming a master jeweler takes a significant amount of time so
Azza Fahmy developed an incentive to motivate the masters to train
apprentices. Once an apprentice becomes a master, his former
teacher receives a bonus of 5 percent of his income for the rest of
his life.

Azza Fahmy has met challenges in achieving its
goal of becoming a global luxury brand. As of September 2013,
exports only make up 30 percent of sales. However, instability in
Egypt starting in 2011 has made business more challenging. This was
exacerbated by the repeated Egyptian government's ban of gold
exportation. Local sales also suffered from the instability, but
overall the brand recovered quickly and adapted to the new
environment. For example, it focused more on social media when it
realized that traditional advertising would not be as effective
amidst the turmoil.

To move forward, the report notes that Azza
Fahmy will need investments. The company has been fully
self-financed so far, and will have difficulties expanding without
external investments to increase production capacity and to
increase its marketing.

To download the report, please scroll up and
click on the link in the gray box.